Quote:
Originally Posted by gttx
It's just that the logistics of this would be very complicated and expensive. Public lobby space is complicated and expensive enough (and has deterred plenty of developers on its own), but doing it on top of the building would require:
- Losing the most valuable space in the building
- Adding elevators that otherwise aren't required, which must be accessible from the lobby and go all the way up the tower; in other words, using this space up on every single floor.
- Adding egress for an assembly use on the top floor; again, something that has a consequence on every floor.
- Finding a way to separate the public users from the office space, at all levels.
- Security in general in a bank headquarters is a nightmare - imagine it with the possibility that non-bank employees might end up on basically any floor.
- And then on top of that, subsidizing the price of every ticket.
Is all of this possible? Sure, many developers even choose to do it based on the sort of value they can create at the top of the building. But it's incredibly expensive and complicated, especially for an owner like JPMC.
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Back in the early 1930's, there were public observation decks on the top floors of the Bank of Manhattan Building at 40 Wall Street, Williamsburg Savings Bank Tower in Brooklyn, Irving Trust Building at One Wall Street, and City Bank Farmers Trust Building at 20 Exchange Place, all of which were the headquarters of banks and security was a concern even back then. This in addition to buildings that were not owned by banks like the Chrysler Building, Woolworth Building, Empire State Building, RCA Building, and the City Ssrvices Building. Makes me wish 270 Park Avenue had a public observation deck included in it's construction due to it's immense size and height.